Swedish Traditions: The Advents Calendar

It is the many Swedish traditions that makes my Christmas so special. One of them is the yearly Advents Calendar, presented by Swedish Television (SVT) every day of December. When I was a child this was one of the big highlights. My Mum bought the calendar and put it up in the kitchen. I got up early in the morning to have my hot chocolate and toast and after, the Advents Calendar show started on TV. It was a treat to watch TV early in the morning in those days.

It was all about the journey, opening one door a day on the paper calendar (that was accompanying the TV show) and counting down the days to Christmas Eve. Very often the story was a mystery and you talked about it in school, speculated about tomorrows episode and what was going to happen. Who was your favorite character, who was the bad one and who was the saint? Just before dinner you could watch it again on the daily repeat. As a child you couldn't get enough of this special event.

For as long as I can remember, my own children have watched the Swedish Advents Calendar as well. My Mum sends us the paper calendar in the mail every year to encourage the tradition to continue. Some years have had a better story than others but this year is looking very promising.

Selma's Saga (Selma's Fairytale) is a true Christmas adventure about finding Santa in Santa Winterland to make a heart filled wish come true and prove to everyone who has stopped believing in Santa, that he really exists. Very classic and very perfect. I love the message. In my house we believe in Santa because we want to believe and that makes Christmas so much more special. Obviously my children has understood I buy the gifts, but it is something comforting to keep this imaginary belief alive.

This morning I caught up on the first few episodes of Selma's Saga together with Emmy Bo on SVT PLAY on our computer in the office, having breakfast on our laps. I can't wait to see more. The scenery, props and set up is absolutely stunning and filled with knitwear and beautiful textiles, thrift store magic and old fashion Swedish cottages... Oh, and the COLORS!

Being recorded at Skansen (an open-air Sweden museum and animal park) in Stockholm to portrait a classic and authentic old Swedish countryside village, it is warm, inspiring, cozy and very Swedish. A unique cast put together from some of Sweden's best actors together with amateurs like Selma herself (who is cute as a button) is doing a great job. And even if you don't understand Swedish, just pop over here to watch it anyway! It is a true inspiration and makes my Christmas Spirit-O-Meter go high. Hopefully it will do that for you too. 

Note: All pictures are screenshots from the calendar on SVT PLAY.

Kärlek
Annette

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